Mars (Photo : www.cmex.ihmc.us)
NASA has revealed that Mars one had water that is sufficient to constitute a shallow, large ocean that can actually cover half its northern hemisphere, Thursday. This discovery could alter findings as the search continues to look for organic life evidences on Earth's neighboring planets.
Researchers have been monitoring Mars' atmosphere for six years now in an aim of gathering data regarding the type and amount of water, which could still be present on the "Red Planet", the Science Journal said. After several years of observation, scientists were able to conclude that an ocean once stretched across its surface, approximately 4 billion years ago; however, 87% of it has been lost due to its weak atmosphere. Its ocean has been predicted to have measured a mile deep, only.
"Our study provides a solid estimate of how much water Mars once had. With this work, we can better understand the history of water on Mars," said the lead author of the study, Geronimo Villanueva, a scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland.
This water quantity estimate could have a huge impact on the manner by which scientists will approach the search for newer sets of signs of life in the planet.
"With the planet losing 87% of its water, the planet must have been very wet for a period of time than what most of us have previously thought. This suggests that the planet might have been habitable," Michael Mumma, the study's co-author shared.
This new update about the Mars' body of water was collected with the use of telescopes at the Keck Observatory ESO's telescope in Chile, and NASA's infrared telescope equipment.
